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New marina on Bull River reconsidered

Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News The Bull River Bluff Condominiums are again seeking permission to build a 45-slip marina less than 500 feet from the Bull River Marina. A judge revoked a previously issued permit because it was granted without a proper needs assessment.

Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News The Bull River Bluff Condominiums are again seeking permission to build a 45-slip marina less than 500 feet from the Bull River Marina. A judge revoked a previously issued permit because it was granted without a proper needs assessment.

The Bull River Bluff Condominiums are again seeking permission to build a 45-slip marina less than 500 feet from the existing Bull River Marina on Wilmington Island.

A judge in December revoked a previously issued permit for the new marina because it was granted without a proper needs assessment.

A state panel takes up the issue Friday in Brunswick.

If the proposed marina sounds familiar, it is.

The condos originally applied for a marina permit in 2011. The five-member Coastal Marshlands Protection Committee denied that permit because the proposed dock was longer than the 1,000-foot maximum its rules allowed. A reworked application with a shorter dock eventually was granted a permit.

Before the marina could be built, however, Administrative Law Judge Kristen Miller revoked that permit, saying the need for the marina had not been demonstrated as required.

The new application includes a document titled “Needs Assessment” that consists largely of aerial photos of nearby marinas coupled with driving time and distance to them. It also states, “Statistics report that about one-third of residents within a given community are boat owners” though it does not identify the source of those statistics.

David Heery operates the engineering firm 24k Professional Services, which designed the marina. He’s a condo resident and is shepherding the application through the permitting process.

Heery has commitments from 45 residents to purchase a slip, he has stated, a statistic he says should satisfy the need requirement.

Not so, argue those who say state regulations are meant to prevent overbuilding in the state-owned marsh.

The matter was on the committee’s agenda in April, but the applicant failed to respond to public comments in time for that hearing.

Those responses are now in the record and the matter is on the committee’s agenda for Friday.

James Daly, the owner of the existing marina, made one of those comments.

“First, as the new owner of Bull River Marina which is located just a few hundred feet from the proposed marina, I object to the proposed new BRB community marina on the basis that there is no need for additional dock space,” he wrote in part. “Bull River Marina as well as other local facilities can fulfill all of the need.

“My docks are currently over half empty. Since coming under new ownership in April 2012, your local DNR agents can attest that we have invested greatly in repairs and renovation of Bull River Marina as well as its support structures.

“Bull River Marina is a very pleasant, clean, and functional full service marina. We welcome all boaters and strive to provide excellent service to our customers and we need local support.”

In his response Heery dismissed those claims.

The Bull River Marina is actually located over double the distance as stated by the marina owner, he wrote in part. (Heery’s application indicates it’s 418 feet away.) “His opposition to this community dock is totally self-serving as was with the previous owner’s intent.

“It appears the marina’s new owner is also attempting to prevent the condominium homeowners from enjoying a private dock of which they are entitled to by trying to force the residents to support his marina.”

The Savannah Riverkeeper and the Center for a Sustainable Coast successfully appealed the original permit and see no substantive change in the situation.

“There’s absolutely no need for (the marina),” said Nate Hunt, an attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center, which represents the environmental groups. “This is a case where the question of need can be satisfied by facility directly next door.”